2023-11-12 12:21:19
Jupiter, the gas giant of the solar system, is a fascinating and complex planet, especially when it comes to its atmosphere. Its enormous size, the intensity of its magnetic field, and its varied atmospheric composition make it an intriguing object of study for astronomers and planetary scientists. One of those researchers is our guest on Talking with Scientists, Ricardo Hueso Alonso, Professor of Applied Physics at the Bilbao School of Engineering and Member of the Planetary Sciences Group of the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU).
When we focus a telescope on Jupiter, we can barely see an image of the outermost layer of its atmosphere, an atmosphere composed mainly of hydrogen and helium, the same elements that are abundant in stars. But, although hydrogen and helium are the most abundant elements, the atmosphere contains methane, water vapor, ammonia and sulfur compounds, thanks to which we can observe the enormous wealth of atmospheric movements and phenomena. Due to the very low temperatures that prevail there, these gases condense, forming clouds that, forced by hurricane-force winds, acquire titanic proportions. An example of Jupiter’s atmospheric dynamics is the Great Red Spot, a gigantic storm that has been active since at least the 17th century when it was first observed by telescopes. This storm is so big that two or three Earths could fit inside it.
“If we entered a planet like Jupiter with a spacecraft – comments Ricardo Hueso during the interview – starting with the upper clouds, we would see ammonia clouds, storms that are ascending and regions of gas that are descending.” If we could penetrate below these ammonia clouds, we would find more cloud formations composed of condensed water vapor, like terrestrial clouds, with ice crystals that eventually forced by enormous updrafts can form large hail balls that would move between large electrical discharges whose lightning bolts have been detected by the spacecraft that have been sent there. Lower down, as we submerge into the planet’s atmosphere and descend to deeper regions, the temperature would increase and the pressure would rise to such a point that, at a certain depth, our ship would collapse in on itself, crushed. But, if we managed to build a ship capable of withstanding the immense pressures, we would continue descending towards increasingly dense and hot regions, we would find along the way areas composed of different chemical elements, but without finding a solid surface. Only if we reached the interior of Jupiter, at depths greater than 60,000 km, ten times the radius of the Earth, would we perhaps find heavier elements, remains of rocks, remains of materials that are supposed to have been the seed from the which the promordial hydrogen and helium accumulated that gave rise to the planet.
But, as we have said, this trip into the interior of the planet is not possible, at least for now, and we have to content ourselves with observations of the outermost regions of its cloud layer.
Jupiter rotates on its axis faster than any other planet in our solar system, completing one rotation in less than 10 hours. This rapid rotation contributes to its complex climate dynamics, including strong winds and bands of clouds that circulate in opposite directions across different latitudes. These bands are visible through telescopes and come in a variety of colors, ranging from white to dark brown, depending on their composition and the height of the clouds.
Observations with terrestrial and space telescopes, together with those provided to us by various space exploration missions, such as Voyager, Galileo, and more recently, Juno, have provided a large amount of information about Jupiter and its atmosphere. These missions have revealed details about the planet’s chemical composition, structure, and atmospheric dynamics, in addition to offering impressive views of its storms, cloud bands, and auroras.
Research on the gas giant does not stop, the most recent are based on the observation of Jupiter with the James Webb Space Telescope in July 2022. The analysis of the data obtained then has allowed the discovery of a new feature never before seen in the atmosphere of Jupiter. Jupiter. A jet stream traveling at about 515 kilometers per hour, twice the speed at which the sustained winds of a Category 5 hurricane travel on Earth. This current is located about 40 kilometers above the clouds, in Jupiter’s lower stratosphere and extends more than 4,800 kilometers wide over the planet’s equator.
The discovery has been published in the journal Nature Astronomy and its first author is Ricardo Hueso.
I invite you to listen to Ricardo Hueso Alonso, professor of Applied Physics I at the Bilbao School of Engineering and member of the Planetary Sciences Group of the University of the Basque Country. UPV/EHU
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